Aussiefolk

What is best to take to Spain, France and Italy - credit card, debit card or cash?

janisj

Credit card and debit card (with a back up for both)

StuDudley

Some car rental places don't like debit cards. We always arrive in Europe with around 200E in cash just in case there are some "problems" getting cash at the ATMs (we've encountered that).

If there are two of you traveling - don't both of you keep the same card in your wallet/purse. If a purse/wallet is stolen - you don't want 100% of your cards to be cancelled. We keep a list of all of our cards, who is carrying them, and what number to call if one is compromised or stolen. My wife keeps this laminated list in her shoe.

Stu Dudley

dreamon

If you want to withdraw from ATMs take a debit card as credit cards will cost a lot more in interest charges. Also check which banks your local bank is affiliated with to see whether some banks will waive ATM fees. For example, Westpac waives the $5 ATM withdrawal fee if you use one of their affiliated banks overseas.

I would take a debit card and credit card as back up. I often take a small amount of cash for immediate arrival but that's probably not necessary as there will be ATMs at the airport.

When processing a transaction overseas, it is generally cheaper to pay in local currency, not AUD, due to conversion costs. You can insist upon this if necessary.

Also a little paranoia on my behalf - I try to use ATMs associated with a real bank branch and preferably at a time that I know I can get my card back if it gets swallowed. e.g. not after dinner when I'm leaving town early the next morning. The chances of this happening is minimal but potentially incredibly annoying.

ribeirasacra

cash is king for a coffee, taxi, meals etc.
Your non EU card has a lot of bank charges for the business owner.

di2315

You'll need cash if you're using toll roads. Over many years, we've found that the machines don't want to know about Australian cards. Di

Sarastro

What´s best would be for you to ask your financial institutions what they will charge you for access to your money, be it ATM card, credit card or making a cash exchange.

French banks or merchants will charge you nothing for ATM or credit card use. Depending upon your bank, you´ll pay from nothing to a lot for these services.

StCirq

Credit card for large purchases, ATM debit card for everyday expenses. Check to see what your bank charges you - it can be considerable if you don't bank with a credit union or a bank that doesn't charge you 3% or more for overseas withdrawals. French banks charge you zero, so any charges will come from your own bank. Notify your bank when you'll be overseas.

bilboburgler

You'll find that some businesses in out of the way places will have a debit card machine but strangley it doesn't work (sees cable damaged in minds eye) especially in Italy or Spain. In France it will work fine, just the phone line will be "down" for the next 2 hours. So always carry a meal's worth of Euro cash.

This has happened to me so many times it I cannot say, but only where/when the tax inspector is unlikely to call.

michelhuebeli

Let your bank and card issuer know when and where you're going, so that their security apparatus won't deny your transactions as "unusual and suspicious foreign blah blah", leaving you high and dry.

Aussiefolk

Thank you all. I love this forum. Everyone is so helpful.

marvelousmouse

Kind of depends on your country. In addition to what is said above- Germany is pretty much entirely cash when it comes to food or small purchases. Really very a surprisingly few number of places are willing to accept card.

Britain is almost all card friendly, but some places (mostly cabbies) will not understand your signature card and it can take awhile. Also ATMs cost less than foreign transaction fees, at least for my card.

Italy will take your money any way they can get it- except as stated above "the line is down, don't you have cash?" But I found that if you look at them blankly the line miraculously recovers- much like many cabs in the us lol. Hotel tax, I think, is supposed to be paid in cash, but my hotel told me they could accept card for it too, which went against the sign they posted. So that was weird. I'm not saying the line is never genuinely down, but it wasn't for all the times I encountered that in Italy.

And some places you really need card because it's often easier to buy online than let whoever is in front of you figure it out- if you have data, if no, forget this.( Mostly venue/museum tickets.)

On the other hand, some transit machines accept only card and coins and some accept bank notes.

So in the end, I'd bring as much as you feel comfortable carrying- cash is in some ways really easy. And faster. Which I don't find it to be the case at all in the US.

dreamon

But don't buy much cash before you leave Australia - it costs more here than withdrawing from an ATM overseas.

Some banks allow you to advise that you are travelling oversea using online banking. For others you need to call them or visit a branch.

ps. I'm assuming you're Australian based on your name.

Adelaidean

I still use my Australian debit card at an ATM to withdraw and pay cash for everything.
But if you use your card, be aware of dynamic currency conversion http://www.smh.com.au/business/banki...29-1ma77q.html and make sure you're billed in the local currency.

schnauzer

I used to load money into my Commonwealth travel card... Which works quite well, you can top up from your normal bank account to the card as you deplete the balance. I still have some pounds on this card so will be taking again this year. However I have switched to a Citibank debit card, no fees except of course the normal atm withdrawal fees. You load in Aussie currency and just use as an ordinary credit/debit card, again top up in Aussie dollars as you go. I never put my budget on in one hit... The advantage if this is that when you get home and if you still have a balance you can just transfer it back in to your normal account without any exchange rates. Always purchase in the local currency of where you are..

The advantage of the travel card is that you can 'lock' in an exchange rate..ie if the dollar is really strong on one day you can take advantage of this, which is what I did when the pound fell after the Brexit accouncement was made.

I always (well forgot last year and panicked) take a credit card as well if you want to hire a car or just 'need' a credit card for something. As it turned out Avis were more than happy to rent me a car on my Citibank debit card.

I usually take some euro, say 100 and usually the same in Aussie cash, which can always be exchanged in an emergency. Haven't had to do this yet, thank goodness.

I leave the credit cards at the hotel/b and b for just in cases...

You have to allow a few weeks to apply and be approved for a Citibank debit card... Not a quick process... Travel card you can just rock into the bank and get up and running straight away. If you're not a commonwealth bank customer, which I'm not you need to load with cash to start...

Ozian

I use a combination of 2 debit cards for cash withdrawals and a 28 degrees Mastercard which does not charge extra for foreign currency conversions like most credit cards.

As others have mentioned notify your bank which countries you'll be visiting - this can be done online or by phone - and see which European banks they are aligned with to reduce ATM fees.

My normal credit card (Visa) I carry as back-up and maybe for a large purchase. Buying a small amount of cash before you leave can be useful for costs while travelling or on arrival when it may be difficult to access an ATM.

jan47ete

We had an experience in Alexandria, Egypt when the card got stuck in the train station ATM to get money to pay for a train ticket to Cairo. Barely enough card left to grip. I think I broke 2 ball point pen clasps to use as a tweezer to get the card out. Had success but missed the train. I'd rather have my card than another visit to Cairo!

Stu--I'm a big fan of your posts so just an fyi. I bought what I think you might call "passport" socks. They have a zippered pouch on the side big enough for passports or anything else for that matter. Have had them for a couple of years but really come in handy now when bags/packpaks are not allowed in various sites. Essentials go in my sock.

michelhuebeli

If you go to Sweden, don't take cash with you, it's frowned upon and - in many shops and bars and restaurants - not even accepted, period. See https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/27/b...ears.html?_r=0

jan47ete

Was in Sweden in May and only used cash!